Friday, September 28, 2018

First round of mountain goat relocations complete
The first efforts to move mountain goats from the Olympics to the
Cascades wrapped up this week, with 98 of the animals being released
into their new homes. Dozens of those goats were released on the
outskirts of Skagit County, with some being taken to Tower Mountain
between Diablo and Winthrop and others being taken to Stillaguamish Peak
and other areas near Darrington. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit
Valley Herald)

Disasters Declared For Salmon Fisheries Along West Coast
Federal officials have determined that commercial fishery failures
occurred for salmon in Washington, Oregon and California, making those
fisheries eligible for federal disaster assistance. U.S. Secretary of
Commerce Wilbur Ross on Tuesday also announced a commercial fishery
failure for the sardine fishery in California but not for the state’s
red sea urchin fishery. The governors from Washington, Oregon and
California and multiple Native American tribes had requested the
determinations between July 2016 and March 2018. Their requests noted
unusually warm and poor ocean conditions that affected fish. The
disaster determinations make salmon and sardine fisheries eligible for
some portion of $20 million in NOAA Fisheries fishery disaster
assistance. The Commerce Department is figuring out how to allocate that
money to eligible fisheries. (Associated Press)

Half the World's Orcas Could Soon Disappear—Here's Why
They live in chatty groups, and can hunt in teams—sometimes working in
tandem to create waves that dump unlucky prey off floating ice. Savvy
orcas, with their splotchy two-tone flesh and rich family lives, have
survived mass slaughter, being captured with nets and lassos, and being
trucked and airlifted to marine theme parks. But new research published
Thursday in the journal Science suggests more than half of the
world's killer whale populations could face complete collapse in 30 to
50 years, thanks to a suite of toxic chemicals the world has already
banned. Long-lived polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are organic
compounds once used in capacitors, oil paints, and coolants, until they
were deemed so dangerous that their manufacture was banned in the U.S.
and other countries in the 1970s and 1980s. Yet today orcas across the
northern hemisphere are among the most heavily contaminated animals on
Earth. Even now, PCBs are believed to be altering orca behavior,
damaging their immune systems, and harming reproduction so much that
researchers suspect many families of killer whales (technically
dolphins) may not survive the next few decades. Craig Welch reports.
(National Geographic) See also: Pollution threatens the future of killer whales Jonathan Amos and Victoria Gill report. (BBC)

CSIS spying on anti-pipeline activists? Feds try to pull cloak of secrecy over court case
Federal lawyers want closed-door hearings in a high-profile B.C. court
case about allegations that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
spied on anti-pipeline activists. The civil liberties group that filed
the complaints against CSIS opposes the federal secrecy request, saying
it blatantly violates the principle that justice must be seen to be
done. The matter was argued Thursday in an open session of the Federal
Court of Canada. The judge’s decision, expected in about month, will
determine how much the public gets to see and hear when the court
considers whether Canada’s spy agency overstepped the law in monitoring
environmental activists. Jim Bronskill reports. (Canadian Press)

Coal power plant that feeds Puget Sound Energy is back on line
A Montana coal-fired power plant that provides electricity for Puget
Sound Energy is once again operating at full strength after a summer
complicated by pollution problems. The Colstrip power plant in southeast
Montana has four generating units. The two largest, units 3 and 4, were
forced offline in June after failing to comply with a particulate
matter limit established by the federal Mercury and Air Toxics Standard.
Earlier this month, the plant was able to demonstrate compliance with
that standard to regulators, according to a statement released by Talen
Energy, the plant’s operators. Currently, all four units are “fully
operational and will run as electric system conditions dictate,”
according to the statement. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Mount Polley engineers headed for disciplinary hearings
B.C'.s professional association of engineers says it will hold
disciplinary hearings next year for three engineers related to the Mount
Polley tailings dam collapse. Engineers and Geoscientists British
Columbia is alleging negligence or unprofessional conduct by Laura
Fidel, Stephen Rice and Todd Martin in the course of their professional
activities They were involved in the design, construction and monitoring
of the tailings storage facility at the Mount Polley gold and copper
mine. t was the site of one of the largest spills in the province's
history when the dam collapsed in August 2014, sending 24 million cubic
metres of mine waste and sludge into nearby waterways. (Canadian Press)

The Norwegian Bliss will dock at Canada Place on Sunday for the first time
The largest cruise ship ever to visit Vancouver will arrive this weekend. The Norwegian Bliss
is about the length of three football fields at 333 metres and is
capable of carrying nearly 6,000 guests. The new ship will dock at
Canada Place in Vancouver on Sunday for the first time and has several
more scheduled stops in Vancouver for the 2019 cruise season. The
Vancouver Fraser Port Authority says in a news release that the Bliss
will pick up 4,000 passengers for the final leg of a cruise that began
and ends in Seattle and includes stops in Victoria and Alaska. (Canadian
Press)

Controversial oyster pesticide ruled ‘too risky’ for Washington waters
An aquatic pesticide that has pitted shellfish growers against
environmentalists has been ruled “too risky” for Washington’s waters,
the state Department of Ecology said Thursday. The neonicotinoid
pesticide imidacloprid has been linked to several environmental
concerns, including that it can hurt fish and birds by killing their
food sources. In 2017, shellfish growers in Willapa Bay (the bay formed
by Washington’s Long Beach peninsula) and Grays Harbor asked the state
for a permit to spray the pesticide on oyster and clam beds to control
native burrowing shrimp. Craig Sailor reports (News Tribune of Tacoma)

E.P.A. to Eliminate Office That Advises Agency Chief on Science
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to dissolve its Office of the
Science Advisor, a senior post that was created to counsel the E.P.A.
administrator on the scientific research underpinning health and
environmental regulations, according to a person familiar with the
agency’s plans. The person spoke anonymously because the decision had
not yet been made public. The science adviser works across the agency to
ensure that the highest quality science is integrated into the agency’s
policies and decisions, according to the E.P.A.’s website. The move is
the latest among several steps taken by the Trump administration that
appear to have diminished the role of scientific research in
policymaking while the administration pursues an agenda of rolling back
regulations. Asked about the E.P.A.’s plans, John Konkus, a spokesman
for the agency, emailed a prepared statement from the science adviser,
Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, in which she described the decision to dissolve
the office as one that would “combine offices with similar functions”
and “eliminate redundancies.” Coral Davenport reports. (NY Times)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service
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Thursday, September 27, 2018

Fauntleroy Cove
The cove on Seattle's southwestern shore was named for love. In 1857,
George Davidson of the U.S. Coast Survey was smitten with Eleanor
Fauntleroy. To bolster his quest for her hand, he named his newly
commissioned survey vessel for her father, Robert H.Fauntleroy, the cove
for the brig (he claimed), the Olympic peaks-- Mt. Eleanor, Mt.
Constance, The Brothers, all of which are visible from the cove-- for
his finance, her sister, and her brothers, Arthur and Edward. Although
he never bestowed a geographic honor on his mother-in-law, George and
Eleanor were married in 1859. (Washington State Place Names)

500,000 sign petition to breach Snake River dams in effort to save orcas
More than 500,000 people have signed a petition to breach the Lower
Snake River dams in an effort to boost wild salmon recovery, putting
pressure on state leaders to consider the controversial move. On
Wednesday, the online petition
titled, “Dammed to extinction, Southern Resident Orcas are starving.
Time is running out!” had 548, 256 signatures. The lower Snake River
dams are Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite.
They’re the four lowest dams on the Snake River, a tributary to the
Columbia River. Wildlife advocates say breaching the dams could boost
the number of wild chinook salmon that orcas feed on. There are only 74
southern resident orcas left in the Puget Sound area. The petition was
created by a group called the Southern Resident Killer Whale Chinook
Salmon Initiative. The plan is to eventually deliver it to state leaders
Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray. Brett Cihon and Simone Del
Rosario report. (KCPQ)

Judge: NOAA can’t regulate fish farming under fisheries law
A federal judge in New Orleans has thrown out the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s rules for fish farms in the Gulf of Mexico,
saying the agency lacked authority to make them. Tuesday’s ruling halts
a plan that would have allowed, “for the first time, industrial
aquaculture offshore in U.S. federal waters,” according to the Center
for Food Safety , which sued NOAA on behalf of what U.S. District Judge
Jane Triche Milazzo described as “a bevy of special interest groups
representing both food safety advocates and Gulf fishermen.” The
government considers fish farming, including that on the open sea, to be
“vital for supporting our nation’s seafood production, year-round jobs,
rebuilding protected species and habitats, and enhancing coastal
resilience.” Opponents say huge numbers of fish confined in nets out in
the ocean could hurt ocean health and native fish stocks, and the farms
would drive down prices and devastate commercial fishing communities.
Janet McConnaughey reports. (Associated Press)

Mysterious bird kill in Delta solved, say wildlife experts
An evasive manoeuvre gone wrong may be to blame for the mysterious death
of dozens of birds in Delta earlier this month. On Sept. 14, Kevin
Beech witnessed what he called a scene from an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
He was heading to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal when he saw the birds
crash to the roadway.... The Canadian Wildlife Service said in a
statement that a witness came forward saying a much larger bird was
chasing the flock of European starlings when they swooped toward the
ground and then pulled back up. However, "the tail-end of the flock
didn't pull up in time," the statement said. European starlings can form
very large flocks and execute amazing swooping and whirling
patterns—called a murmuration—to avoid a predatory bird, said the
statement. (CBC)

Ottawa to test for risks of virus transfer from farmed to wild salmon
A science review to assess the risks associated with the transfer of a
virus from farmed Atlantic salmon to wild salmon has been launched by
the federal government. Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the
results of the assessment of the piscine reovirus will guide decisions
on aquaculture in Canada, including in the area of the Discovery Islands
and Broughton Archipelago off B.C.’s coast. The government says in a
news release the review will include domestic and international
scientific experts, with a final report made available by early next
year. (Canadian Press)

Toxic algae closes Samish Bay shellfish harvest
All recreational shellfish harvesting and all commercial oyster
harvesting were closed Tuesday in Samish Bay after a biotoxin was found
in regularly obtained samples. A biotoxin that can cause paralytic
shellfish poisoning was found in one oyster from the bay in high enough
concentrations to make consumers sick, the state Department of Health’s
marine biotoxin lead Jerry Borchert said. The state agency monitors
year-round for several biotoxins, which are produced by algae in the
water, including that which can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning.
Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

5 sei whales seen swimming in pod of fin whales after scientists heard their calls
For a handful of researchers surveying marine life off British
Columbia's coast — it was a whale of a tale. This summer, a group of
biologists and Canadian Coast Guard members became the first people to
report seeing endangered sei whales in Canadian waters in more than half
a century.... The sei whale, one of the fastest marine mammals in the
world, is part of the same family as blue and fin whales. At one point,
there were more than 60,000 sei whales in the North Pacific, but the
population collapsed after whalers started targeting them. There hadn't
been a single reported sighting of a sei whale in Canadian waters since
before whaling was banned in the 1960s. Mia Rabson reports. (Canadian
Press)

Taller plants moving into warmer Arctic
The low-lying shrubs, grasses and other plants growing in the Arctic are
getting taller. The finding comes from scientists who have analysed
three decades of measurements. This data, gathered across Alaska,
Canada, Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia, indicates that a warming
climate is driving the change. The team of 180 researchers says the
increase in height could ultimately work to push up temperatures
further. The international group reports its work in the journal Nature. Jonathan Amos reports. (BBC)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service
by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@)
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can unsubscribe at any time.

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Sword FernPolystichum minimum
Sword fern leaves were used by Northwest coast peoples as a protective
layer in traditional pit ovens, between food in storage boxes and
baskets and on berry-drying racks. The leaves were also used as flooring
and bedding. The large rhizomes were dug in the spring and eaten as a
starvation food by the Auileute, Makah, Klallam, Squamish, Sechelt,
Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka'wakw and Haida. The rhizomes were roasted over a
fire or steamed in a traditional pit oven, then peeled and eaten. The
Nuu-chah-nulth ate the cooked rhizomes, especially to cure diarrhea.
Sword fern is known in a number of Vancouver Island and Puget Sound
languages as 'pale-pale plant' because it was used in a traditional game
known as 'pale-pale.' This game, played by children, involved seeing
who could pull the most leaflets off a leaf in a single breath while
saying 'papa' with each one. (Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)

Another southern resident orca is ailing — and at least three whales are pregnant
Another orca is ailing in the critically endangered family of southern
resident killer whales. K25, a 27-year-old male, documented in aerial
photographs since 2008, is thinner right now than in previous years,
scientists who regularly track the whales with drone photography have
reported. The trouble for K25 likely started with the loss of his
mother, K13, in 2017, said John Durban, biologist with the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science
Center in a news release.... On a more hopeful note for the southern
residents, aerial images collected this week also show K27, K25’s
sister, to be heavily pregnant, along with a number of other females in
J, K and L pods, which make up the southern residents. Whales carry
their baby weight below the rib cage, just like humans, Durban said,
enabling later-term pregnancies to be reliably documented from aerial
images of body shape. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times) See also: Another Puget Sound orca is in bad shape. Three others are pregnant John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

How orcas make it difficult for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to proceed
The federal fisheries minister said Tuesday it will be more difficult
for cabinet to give another green light to the Trans Mountain pipeline
expansion if — or more likely when — the National Energy Board’s new
environmental review determines the project is going to harm killer
whales. Jonathan Wilkinson said such a finding wouldn’t mean cabinet
will reject the project — but ministers will have to be convinced there
are appropriate measures in place to protect the extremely endangered
Southern resident killer whales. (Canadian Press)

Trump Administration Rolls Back Obama-Era Safety Rules For Oil Trains
The Trump administration has finalized a roll back of Obama-era
regulations for oil trains. The rules, which date back to 2015, required
railroads carrying crude oil or other flammable liquids to outfit their
trains with more responsive electronic braking systems. The rules came
in response to concerns about explosions and spills from mile-long
trains of crude and ethanol. In the Northwest, those trains move along
the Columbia River and through cities to coastal refineries. The U.S.
Department of Transportation, which has been working on rescinding the
rules since last December, said in statement this week that its analysis
showed the cost of requiring railroads to equip trains with the new
brakes outweighed the potential benefits. Tony Schick reports.
(OPB/EarthFix)

There's a big difference between bio-based and biodegradable, Love-Ese Chile says
A Vancouver-based plastics expert is pushing for more public education
about the different types of plastics following Ottawa's plans to
eliminate the use of single-use plastics in government operations.
Love-Ese Chile, a bioplastics specialist and consultant, argues not all
plastics are the same and it's crucial to understand their differences
when creating public policy.... In fact, Chile said, there are three
major categories when it comes to sustainable plastics: those that are
bio-based, those that are biodegradable and those that are both. "One of
the biggest problems is that they are all called bioplastics, and that
gets really confusing," Chile said. Bio-based plastics are made from
biological resources — like polylactic acid, a polyester created by
plant sources such as corn starch — whereas biodegradable refers to its
ability to decompose. Not all bio-based plastics are biodegradable, and
vice versa, Chile emphasized, which is why she is pushing to clarify the
terminology of bioplastics. Clare Hennig reports. (CBC)

Brown marmorated stink bug a destructive agricultural pest that can cause millions in dollars of damage
Stink bugs are munching their way through the Okanagan Valley and
researchers are hoping a tiny wasp can help contain the pests before
they hit B.C.'s orchards en masse. Last summer, more than a thousand
brown marmorated stink bugs were counted in Kelowna's downtown core. A
provincial study was launched to research the invasive species. "We
started trapping them last year," said Susanna Acheampong, an
entomologist with the Ministry of Agriculture.... The species caused $37
million dollars in damage to the mid-Atlantic U.S. apple industry in
2010, for example. That's why researchers are desperate to find a way to
contain the pests as soon as possible and turning to biological control
agents as a possibility. "In Asia, they have this tiny wasp that's the
size of a sesame seed -— they are called samurai wasps," Acheampong
said. "The wasp will attack the eggs of marmorated stink bugs." Clare
Hennig reports. (CBC)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service
by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@)
salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you
can unsubscribe at any time.

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Steller Sea LionEumetopias jubatus
The Steller (or northern) sea lion is the largest member of the family Otariidae,
the “eared seals,” which includes all sea lions and fur seals. Steller
sea lions are named for Georg Wilhelm Steller, the German surgeon and
naturalist on the Bering expedition who first described and wrote about
the species in 1742. While they are the only living member of their
genus, they share parts of their range with a smaller related species,
California sea lions. Steller sea lions' impressive low-frequency
vocalizations sound more like roars than California sea lions’ barks.
They also share parts of their range with another otariid: northern fur
seal. Historically, Steller sea lions were highly abundant throughout
many parts of the North Pacific. Indigenous peoples and other settlers
hunted them for their meat, hides, oil, and other products. In addition,
they were killed for predator control and commercial harvests, causing
their numbers to decrease. Steller sea lions were first listed under
the Endangered Species Act in 1990. In 1997 NOAA Fisheries recognized
two populations, classifying the eastern population as threatened and
the western population as endangered. The eastern population has since
recovered and is no longer listed, which is a significant achievement
under the ESA. The western population remains endangered. (NOAA)

Gov. Jay Inslee's orca task force draft report out for public comment
A governor’s task force on orca recovery has released its draft report
on potential recommendations to save the southern resident killer whale
from extinction. The 53-page report is a kitchen sink of possible
fixes, touching on everything from dam removal on the Lower Snake River
to changes in hatchery policy, habitat spending and environmental
cleanup actions. The task force will take public comment
on the potential recommendations until midnight Oct. 7. The task force
has not agreed on the recommendations, or even ranked them by
preference. The task force will consider the public’s comments on the
possible recommendations at its next meeting on Oct. 17 and 18 in the
Tacoma area. The venue has not yet been announced. The final report to
the task force is due to Gov. Jay Inslee on Nov. 16. Lynda Mapes
reports. (Seattle Times) See also: Governor’s task force releases draft plan to save southern resident orcas Simone Del Rosario and Brett Cihon report. (KCPQ)

State demands spill response details for Whatcom portion of Trans Mountain Pipeline
State officials are not satisfied with the oil spill contingency plan
for the Trans Mountain Pipeline that partly operates in Washington. The
state Department of Ecology has asked the Canadian government to add
more details for the 64-mile expanse that goes through northern Whatcom
County, providing crude oil to the refineries in Ferndale and Anacortes.
According to a news release from Ecology, more details are needed on
how the Canadian government would respond, including the initial steps
after a spill is discovered and if the oil were to spill into the ocean
and sink to the seafloor. Ecology also wants details on what impact oil
spills would have on orca whales, salmon and other natural resources.
Robert Mittendorf reports. (Bellingham Herald)

First Nations leader suggests moving Trans Mountain pipeline terminal to Delta
The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations says the federal
government would find it easier to get the Trans Mountain pipeline built
if it moves the route and the marine shipping terminal to avoid
Indigenous communities that are oppose the project. Perry Bellegarde
said many Indigenous communities believe in the need to diversify export
markets for Canadian resources through work to transition to a clean
energy economy. However, he acknowledged there are some communities
along the coast, notably the Squamish First Nation and the
Tsleil-Waututh Nation, that will never support the pipeline, which in
its current format affects a marine terminal in the traditional
territory of the Tsleil-Waututh, and would bring additional oil tankers
through traditional waters of the Squamish. “So why not move (the
terminal)? Why don’t you move it to Tsawwassen?” Bellegarde said in a
wide-ranging interview Monday with The Canadian Press. (Canadian Press)

Mammoth LNG Canada project unaffected by Trans Mountain pipeline problems: CEO
The debacle over Canada’s oil pipeline nationalization and trade
tensions with the U.S. won’t affect the final investment decision on
Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s $40 billion (US$31 billion) liquefied natural
gas project, according to the head of the venture. Shell-led LNG Canada
proposes to export as much as 26 million tons per year to Asia, making
it potentially the nation’s largest-ever infrastructure project and one
that could transform Canada’s energy fortunes. Shell and its four
partners — Mitsubishi Corp., Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd.,
PetroChina Co. and Korea Gas Corp. — are set decide whether to build the
complex by the end of this year. (Bloomberg News)

'It's a long time coming': $6.2 million wildlife bridge over I-90 nears completion
It’s just a patch of barren earth not much wider than a basketball
court, but conservationists, government workers and construction
managers are pretty fired up about it. “This is going to be really
amazing,” said Patty Garvey-Darda, a wildlife biologist in the
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. “It’s a long time coming.” The dirt
surface spans a bridge structure across Interstate 90 near milepost 61
called an animal overcrossing. For decades, animals have had to contend
with heavy traffic on I-90 that has squashed plenty of creatures and
cleaved entire populations in two. No longer. The new $6.2 million
overcrossing, which is still under construction near Price Creek, will
soon provide safe passage for elk, bears and maybe even mountain goats,
as part of an ambitious overhaul of I-90 to reconnect wildlife habitats
in the north and south Cascades. Cars pass through two concrete archways
underneath. Evan Bush reports. (Seattle Times)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service
by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@)
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can unsubscribe at any time.

Monday, September 24, 2018

American CootFulica americana
Coots are tough, adaptable waterbirds. Although they are related to the
secretive rails, they swim in the open like ducks and walk about on
shore, making themselves at home on golf courses and city park ponds.
Usually in flocks, they are aggressive and noisy, making a wide variety
of calls by day or night. They have strong legs and big feet with lobed
toes, and coots fighting over territorial boundaries will rear up and
attack each other with their feet. Often seen walking on open ground
near ponds. In taking flight they must patter across the water, flapping
their wings furiously, before becoming airborne. (Audubon Field Guide)

Dismal returns for chinook salmon on B.C.’s Fraser River reveal latest threat to endangered orcas
A test fishery for chinook salmon on the Fraser River this year is
reporting dismal returns, raising new concerns for the endangered
southern resident killer whales who rely heavily on these fish for their
survival. The federal government announced in May a reduction in
harvest of chinook by roughly one-third and closures in some key whale
foraging areas after declaring the southern resident killer whales are
facing an imminent threat to their survival. The federal government
acknowledges that lack of prey is one of the critical factors affecting
the whales’ recovery. But Misty MacDuffee, wild salmon program director
for the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, said the daily results from
the Albion test fishery on the Fraser had already demonstrated the need
for a complete closure of both marine commercial and sport fisheries on
chinook, in order to leave prey for the whales. Justine Hunter reports.
(Globe and Mail)

Cool reception from B.C. opponents on order to reconsider Trans Mountain pipeline
The Trudeau government’s announcement on Friday that the National Energy
Board will be reconsidering the Trans Mountain expansion project to
take into account marine traffic and its effect on killer whales was met
with both caution and outright hostility on Friday by B.C. First
Nations and environmentalists.... Living Oceans executive director Karen
Wristen said she saw no way the NEB would have a chance of mitigating
the effects of the project on killer whales without hearing new
evidence. And that process — for example, her organization hiring an
expert to investigate and write a submission — would take longer than 22
weeks, said Wristen, whose organization was one of the federal court
challengers.... The Tsleil-Waututh welcomed the federal government’s
recognition of its position that marine shipping should have been
included in the NEB’s assessment, but warned that additional review and
two-way dialogue on these issues will take more than 22 weeks. Gordon
Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Baby salmon are afraid of the dark, so Seattle built glass sidewalks
From a kayak under Pier 66 in downtown Seattle, the new seawall and pier
don't look like what you would expect. For one, it’s not dark under the
pier. The sidewalk that covers Pier 66 is now made of opaque glass, and
light floods down onto the water. The design is supposed to be
friendlier for fish. Down here on the waterfront, the Alaska Way Viaduct
is months from being torn down. The city is also redesigning this area
for migrating salmon, making it more like the shoreline that was here
before there was a city. Eilis O'Neill reports. (KUOW)

Former paint-factory site at Laurel Point to get $17-million cleanup
Transport Canada has awarded a more-than-$17-million contract to remove
contaminated soil from Laurel Point Park, a former industrial site used
to manufacture paint. QM/JJM Contracting JV will remove contaminants
from the park and harbour, according to an announcement made Saturday by
Joyce Murray, Liberal MP for Vancouver-Quadra, on behalf of Transport
Minister Mark Garneau. The remediation work is expected to start in
early October and take 12 to 18 months. In May, the City of Victoria
announced it will contribute $3.1 million to Transport Canada’s planned
cleanup of its lands that flank the park. The massive undertaking is
estimated to cost $20 million to $25 million. Lousie Dickson reports.
(Times Colonist)

B.C.'s 2018 wildfires fuelled by forests ravaged by pine beetles a decade ago
Clearing or burning beetle ravaged forests may be costly but could
mitigate against the kind of massive wildfires that have been seen in
British Columbia the last two summers, say researchers. They say a large
proportion of the forests that burned this year were affected by the
mountain pine beetle about a decade ago. The mountain pine beetle
epidemic affected more than 180,000 square kilometres. By comparison,
the wildfires burned about 12,000 square kilometres last year and 13,000
square kilometres this year. (Canadian Press)

France removes toxic tyres from failed reef project
Teams of divers are painstakingly lifting an artificial reef made of
tens of thousands of old car tyres from the seafloor south of France,
after it was found to spread pollution from toxic chemicals. The
operation is costing well over a million euros ($1.1m; £898,000) and is
part-funded by the tyre manufacturer Michelin as well as the French
state. The divers are supported by a boat with lifting equipment. Fish
had been avoiding the area. (BBC)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service
by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@)
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can unsubscribe at any time.

Friday, September 21, 2018

Elwha Nearshore, September 18, 2018
Anne Shaffer of Coastal Watershed Institute writes: "The Elwha is quiet
and clear and we all wait for fall rains to bring in coho, and later,
chum. The outline of the new delta is a familiar site now, while the
subtle, but critical, work of rebuilding the ecosystems of the sediment
starved and degraded nearshore delta and shoreline continues. This is
what hope looks like."

As southern resident killer whales dwindle, more food options mean northern population is thriving
As concern grows over the decline of the southern resident killer whale
population following the presumed death of the young female J50, the
story off B.C.'s north and central coast is much different. The most
recent count of the northern resident group of orcas reported 309
whales, more than four times the number of southern residents. "The
northern killer whale population is doing much better… [and] doesn't
seem to be going through the same slow decline," said Lance
Barrett-Lenard, head of the cetacean research program at the Vancouver
Aquarium. Both populations feed on chinook salmon as their primary prey
but Barrett-Lenard said the northern whales have less competition and
more options to choose from, with fish returning to the Skeena River,
Nass River and Owikeno Lake. Anna Dimoff reports. (CBC)

Oil company money keeps rolling in to campaign to defeat Washington state carbon fee
The oil company Phillips 66 has contributed an additional $3.5 million
to defeat a statewide ballot measure, Initiative 1631, that would impose
a carbon-pollution fee on fossil -fuel emissions. That brings the
corporation’s total contributions to the opposition campaign to $7.2
million — almost half of the No on 1631 fundraising that on Wednesday
totaled $16 million.... Other major contributors to the opposition
campaign include Chevron, BP, Andeavor and the trade association
American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, according to documents
filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission. (Seattle Times)

Ottawa gives pipeline regulator 22 weeks to review Trans Mountain expansion project
The Liberal government is instructing the federal pipeline regulator to
review the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to consider the project's
impact on the marine environment. Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet
Sohi said Friday the National Energy Board will have 22 weeks to hear
from Canadians.... The minister said the government will outline plans
for further consultation with Indigenous people in due course.... Sohi
said the review will consider the impact of increased tanker traffic on
the resident killer whale population. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has
said the government is committed to building the pipeline the "right
way" to satisfy the court's demands. Kathleen Harris reports. (CBC)

Chemicals from automobile tires suspected in coho deaths
Chemicals linked to automobile tires have been found in stormwater
associated with the widespread deaths of coho salmon in Puget Sound. The
findings were presented this month in the journal Environmental Science & Technology
and elevate tires as a suspect in “urban runoff mortality syndrome,” a
condition that has been endangering coho salmon runs in the region....
While the authors caution that the findings do not show a definitive
link between tires and coho deaths, they report that “the results
indicate that [tire wear particles] are an under-appreciated contaminant
source in urban watersheds.” They argue that the assessment of tires as
a potential source of toxic contaminants should be a research priority.
Jeff Rice reports. (Puget Sound Institute)

Dozens of birds fall out of the sky in mysterious 'mortality event'
The Canadian Wildlife Service is investigating a "mortality event" in
which dozens of birds literally fell from the sky on a road near
Tsawwassen, B.C. People were shocked to witness the birds, believed to
be starlings, plunge to the ground near the BC Ferries terminal on Sept.
14. It is unclear whether they were dead before hitting the ground.
Joan Marshall reports. (CBC)

Local Zoos Gathering Thousands Of Signatures In Defense Of U.S. Endangered Species Act
Monday is the deadline for comments on proposed changes to the
Endangered Species Act. Conservation advocates gathered Wednesday at
Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo to voice their concerns. They say the
federal law is under attack and that the proposed changes would gut it.
Standing in front of the zoo’s lush Grizzly Bear exhibit, Woodland Park
President and CEO Alejandro Grajal gave the example of possibly adding
economic impact studies to the analysis required when listing species.
He said bringing these additional values into evaluations of proposed
listings would be a mistake.... UW College of the Environment Dean and
Woodland Park Zoo Board Member Lisa Graumlich joined him, voicing
concern about a provision that would leave climate science out of the
equation when listing new species for protection. Bellamy Pailthorp
reports. (KNKX)

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Thursday, September 20, 2018

Pacific Sand LanceAmmodytes personatus
Pacific Sand Lance range from California to the Aleutian Islands and the
southeastern Bering Sea. They are found schooling in depths that range
from the surface to 80 m (262 ft) in Puget Sound, and off the coast to
perhaps 272 m (892 ft). Pacific Sand Lances have two very distinct
behaviors. During the day they are mostly found in large schools in the
water column and during the night they are mostly found buried in the
sand to avoid predation. They generally spawn in sandy intertidal areas,
with eggs often taking on a coat of attached sand grains, making them
nearly invisible. The young-of-the-year Pacific Sand Lances settle in
shallow waters and occupy shallow eelgrass and algae beds, but also live
over sand, cobble and bedrock. Pacific Sand Lances feed primarily on
small, pelagic organisms, although occasionally on benthic
invertebrates. This species is prey to multitudes of fish, birds, and
marine mammals. A recent analysis of sand lances throughout the Pacific
Ocean led to a renaming of the species found in Washington from A. hexapterus to A. personatus. (WDFW)

Seattle University says it will become first college in state to divest from fossil fuels
Seattle University will become the first university in Washington state
to divest its endowment from fossil fuels over the next five years. The
action means that by 2023, Seattle University will no longer invest any
of its $230 million endowment in the funds and securities of fossil-fuel
companies. The university estimates that 6.7 percent, or $13.6 million,
of its endowment has “exposure to securities of fossil-fuel companies,
as defined by ownership of fossil-fuel reserves.” The university will
work to achieve a 50 percent reduction by Dec. 31, 2020, and expects to
be fully divested by June 30, 2023. Katherine Long reports. (Seattle
Times)

Trump Administration Eases Regulation Of Methane Leaks On Public Lands
The Trump administration is proposing to roll back another Obama-era
energy regulation, this time one that aimed to curb methane leaks from
oil and gas operations on tribal and public lands. Methane is a powerful
greenhouse gas, even more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term,
that contributes to climate change. The Obama administration said that
large amounts of methane are lost into the atmosphere through through
leaks, as well as intentional venting and flaring at energy production
sites. It moved to limit that by requiring oil and gas companies to
capture leaking and vented methane at existing sites, to gradually
update their technology and to make plans for monitoring escaping gas.
The Government Accountability Office says as much as $23 million of
potential royalty revenue from those gases is lost annually. But in a
statement, the Department of the Interior said that rule was
“unnecessarily burdensome on the private sector.” Jennifer Ludden
reports. (NPR)

European Green Crab found at Kala Point Lagoon
Volunteers from the Washington Sea Grant Crab Team monitoring program
discovered an invasive European Green Crab at Kala Point Lagoon on Sept.
8. This was the first European Green Crab found at Kala Point after
four years of monitoring the site. “We’ve done 21 sampling visits to
this lagoon,” said Chris Jones, the leader of the Kala Point Lagoon crab
team. “In 20.9 of those samplings, we didn’t see any green crab. And
suddenly we pull this trap, and go, ‘What the heck is that?’” The team
was shocked, surprised and worried, as the European Green Crab has been
known to have devastating effects on habitats. Lily Haight reports. (Pt.
Townsend Leader)

Cruise Ships, Heavy Fuel Oil and Arctic Sea Ice
Arctic sea ice is at its lowest in September, when the ice stops melting
and glaciers begin to accumulate again. The National Snow and Ice Data
Center tracks ice and says the extent of sea ice this year is expected
to be one of the lowest in the satellite record. Climate watchers in
Seattle and Amsterdam are bringing attention to the issue by targeting
cruise ships that burn heavy fuel oil, a practice amplifying the effects
of climate change. Martha Baskin reports. (PRX)

On a related note:Four Decades of Change: An Arctic Seabird Struggles to Survive in a Warming World
George Divoky, who has conducted research on Mandt’s black guillemot on
Cooper Island off the coast of northern Alaska for the last 40 years,
presents this summer's research and ongoing climate change trends at the
October 25 North Cascades Audubon Society meeting in Bellingham's
Whatcom Museum at 7 PM. See also: Can These Seabirds Adapt Fast Enough to Survive a Melting Arctic? (Audubon Magazine)

Shellfish harvesting closed along Kitsap's eastern shoreline
hellfish harvesting has been closed on the eastern shoreline of Kitsap
County, from Point No Point in Hansville to Restoration Point on
Bainbridge Island, after testing found high levels of the toxin
paralytic shellfish poison, Kitsap Public Health announced Wednesday.
Samples for this closure were collected on Monday and showed PSP
concentrations of 172 micrograms of toxin per 100 grams of shellfish
tissues, the health district said. Shellfish harvesting is closed when
PSP toxin levels meet or exceed 80 micrograms per 100 grams of tissue,
it noted. (Kitsap Sun)

Fir Island levee repairs underway
Repairs are underway on a section of levee along the south fork of the
Skagit River. A 1,200-foot section of the levee near the end of Wiley
Road on Fir Island was damaged during flooding in November. Skagit
County Consolidated Diking Improvement District 22 and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers are coordinating repairs, which are intended to
protect surrounding lands before the next flood season, according to
project documents. (Skagit Valley Herald)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service
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can unsubscribe at any time.

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Fidalgo Island (Skagit County)
Separated from the mainland by a narrow slough, this island was named
for Salvadore Fidalgo of Eliza's exploration fleet of 1790. The name was
assigned by Kellett in 1847 as part of his campaign of preserving early
Spanish names. The actual discovery that the area was an island rather
than part of the mainland was made by the Wilkes Expedition. Wilkes
named the island in honor of Oliver Hazard Perry and its highest point
for the victory in the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Perry's
Island is no more, but Mt. Erie still exists as a reminder of the man
who cryptically announced his victory: "We have met the enemy and they
are ours." (Washington State Place Names)

Huge fish kill on Surrey waterway another blow to conservation group
Volunteers with the Nicomekl Enhancement Society are sounding the alarm
after discharge from a cement plant triggered a mass die-off of fish and
crayfish in the Nicomekl River on Sept 14. "The kill was extensive,"
said NES president and biologist Jim Armstrong. "There were generation
of crayfish that were killed off ... literally hundreds. And we went
from hundreds of coho fry to zero coho fry." Armstrong said fisheries
officials traced the deadly discharge to a cement plant that was
expelling wastewater into a ditch that flowed directly into an upper
tributary of the Nicomekl system. A test of the water showed the
effluent caused the pH of the river to rise above eight, a level that is
lethal to most aquatic life. Karin Larsen reports. (CBC)

Much Of Columbia River Closed To Salmon Fishing
The rare closure of most of the Columbia River to salmon fishing is
largely the result of bad weather and bad ocean conditions in 2015. The
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife on Thursday closed salmon
fishing on the main stem of the Columbia River from Buoy 10 upstream to
Highway 395 in Pasco. The Spokesman-Review says the count of fall
chinook at Bonneville Dam last week was 105,795 fish. The count is
normally about double that. (Associated Press)

Study: Impact of diluted bitumen on young sockeye salmon deadly
New research led by Sarah Alderman, a post-doctorate researcher at the
University of Guelph's department of integrative biology has found that
even short exposure to diluted bitumen (dilbit) can be deadly to young
salmon. The new study added credence to a study published by Alderman
last year that concluded tiny amounts of diluted bitumen weakens the
chances of migrating salmon to make it back to the rivers and streams of
their birth to spawn. The new study, published in the September Journal of Aquatic Toxicology, studied the effects of diluted bitumen on early life stages of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Karen Graham reports. (Digital Journal)

Canada to Assess Shipping's Impact on Coastal Marine Ecosystems
Transport Canada has awarded a contract to ESSA Technologies to look at
ways of assessing the cumulative impacts of marine shipping on coastal
marine ecosystems. The $95,000 initiative will involve collecting data
from six pilot sites: Northern British Columbia, Southern British
Columbia, the St. Lawrence River (Quebec), the Bay of Fundy (New
Brunswick), the South Coast of Newfoundland, and Cambridge Bay
(Nunavut). In August, Canada's Minister of Transport Marc Garneau
announced an investment of over $175 million in seven measures to help
protect Arctic waters as part of the Oceans Protection Plan. (Marine
Executive)

New Genetic Research Shows the Legacy of Fish Farm Escapees
Newfoundland’s great fish jailbreak took place on September 18, 2013,
when a damaged sea pen, roiled by currents and tides, discharged 20,000
farmed Atlantic salmon into the frigid freedom of Hermitage Bay. Cooke
Aquaculture, which owned the failed pen, swiftly set about controlling
the damage in the media, if not the ocean. Seals and other predators
would scarf up the rogue salmon, the company assured the CBC. The fish,
it added, “pose[d] no threat to the environment.” A new genetic
analysis, however, refutes that dubious claim. Researchers with
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) have shown that the fish fled
Hermitage Bay, fanning out and infiltrating many of southern
Newfoundland’s rivers. There, the escapees interbred with their wild
cousins—potentially weakening the gene pools of imperiled populations.
Ben Goldfarb reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Larry Pynn's Swan Song
Reporter Larry Pynn retired in August from the environment beat at the Vancouver Sun
after 41 years and left some mighty fine words relevant for those of us
devoted to real news and to the environment of the Salish Sea. "In
journalism, you're only as good as your last story, so I'll try not to
screw this up," Larry writes in farewell. Check it out.

Editor's note: Following up on the report about sword ferns' unexplained deaths in Kitsap County (Ferns are dying in Kitsap forests, and nobody knows why)
and at Seward Park in Seattle, Jeff Marti reports that "I thought I
would pass on that in early September I noticed that sword ferns in a
nearby woods in SE Olympia were looking rather sad... They were
essentially collapsing, with some fronds laying on the ground. I had
noticed similar occurrences during 2015, which also was an extremely
dry, warm summer. In fact, my recollection is that in 2015 the ferns
looked even worse. They do seem to bounce back over the winter but it
does make me wonder that even if drought isn’t the direct cause of
mortality, then perhaps drought is at least weakening the plant’s
ability to survive other stresses. But I’m certainly no botanist and I’m
glad to see that the puzzle is being tackled by some more learned
folks."

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service
by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@)
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can unsubscribe at any time.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

The PrinceAgaricus augustus
One of the most desirable of edible mushrooms, meaty and of fine
flavor. Found in rain seasons from June to October, in dry seasons
beginning to fruit in August. If the place in which it appears is
watered, successive crops will be produced. Often grows near
compost heaps or in flower beds, on lawns, in orchards, sometimes
near edges of roads, usually in the open. (The New Savory Wild
Mushroom)

International
10-year salmon preservation plan advances
Canada and the U.S. states of Alaska, Oregon and Washington would
all reduce their catch of fragile salmon species under the terms
of an updated international agreement that, if approved, will
spell out the next decade of cooperation between the U.S. and
Canada to keep the migratory fish afloat in Pacific waters.
Members of the Pacific Salmon Commission on Monday recommended a
conservation plan that stretches to 2028 after two years of
intense negotiations involving fishermen, tribes on both sides of
the border and state and federal officials. It must be approved by
both the U.S. and Canadian governments.... One of the most
significant parts of the new treaty is reductions in the allowed
harvest of chinook salmon, and particularly of chinook populations
that are listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife said.... Alaska will reduce its
catch by 7.5 percent in the southeast when poor chinook returns
are expected. Canada will do so by 12.5 percent and Oregon and
Washington will reduce their catch anywhere from 5 to 15 percent,
according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Gillian
Flaccus reports. (Associated Press)

Ottawa
looking for some high-level legal advice to get Trans Mountain
project back on track
The federal government is shopping around for a retired federal
judge to help guide a renewed consultation with Indigenous
communities on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The Federal
Court of Appeal last month quashed the approval given to the
project, saying the consultation with Indigenous communities
wasn't good enough and criticizing the lack of attention paid to
the environmental impact of increased tanker traffic off the coast
of British Columbia.... An official close to the plan told the Canadian
Press one option being closely considered is hiring of a
former senior judge, possibly a retired Supreme Court of Canada
justice, to advise the government on what would constitute
meaningful consultation with Indigenous communities to satisfy the
conditions of the court. The Liberals intend to announce the next
steps in their pipeline plan before the end of September. Mia
Rabson reports. (Canadian Press)

Botanical
bounty of 2,400 plant species discovered in B.C. rainforest
After trudging through swamps and bushwhacking through sub-alpine
thicket, a team of scientists has found around 2,400 species of
plants — some it believes may be previously undiscovered — in the
Ancient Forest/Chun T'oh Whudujut Provincial Park, a rarely
studied inland rainforest 115 kilometres east of Prince George.
The three-year-long field study by scientists and students at the
University of Northern B.C., alongside UBC botanists Trevor Goward
and Curtis Björk, found species that weren't known to grow in this
part of the province — or anywhere in Canada. Joel Ballard
reports. (CBC)

Editor's note: Regarding yesterday's posting of the
mysterious death of Kitsap County ferns (Ferns
are dying in Kitsap forests, and nobody knows why )
reader Charlie Eaton notes that there's also the mystery of a
large patch of sword fern which has died off at Seward Park in
Seattle. This happening anywhere else?

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service
by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@)
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can unsubscribe at any time.

Monday, September 17, 2018

Dampwood TermiteZootermopsis angusticollis
The Pacific Dampwood Termite is one of the largest varieties of termites
of the planet at 30mm with wings and are most often found in fallen
trees and stumps in the forest and by creeks, streams, ponds, rivers and
lakes. Termites dating back to the cretaceous period (125 million years
ago) have been excavated, and well-preserved termites were found in
amber (fossilized tree sap) in the Baltics. In entomology, termites
belong to the Isoptera order and according to Cornell University; there
are 2761 known species of termites. Termites are indigenous to warmer
climates and depending of the specie, colonies can have millions of
members and several queens with secondary colonies. Termites have a
place in our ecosystem by braking down dead trees and returning them as
carbon rich nutrients to the soil. Unfortunately termites don’t
distinguish dead trees from lumber and are pests when they infest
structures. The word “termite” comes from Latin "termes" and from Greek
"tetranien", meaning "a worm eating wood". (Marin Termite Control) See
also: What Termites Can Teach Us Amia Srinivasan reports. (The New Yorker)

Angry at plight of southern-resident orcas, speakers rebuke NOAA in public meetings
Scores of local residents condemned the federal agency in charge of
protecting local killer whales in two packed public meetings over the
weekend, highlighting growing frustration after the deaths of three of
the animals this summer. The endangered southern resident killer whales,
of which just 74 remain, aren’t getting the help they need from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, speakers said at a
Saturday meeting in Friday Harbor and another the following day in
Seattle. The agency has also not been transparent in its efforts to
bring the mammals back from the brink of extinction, they added. The
public hearings were initially planned to discuss an emergency rescue
plan for J50, a southern resident killer whale that was critically ill
before being presumed dead on Thursday. Speakers demanded that NOAA take
drastic steps to save the orcas, including shutting down fishing for
Chinook, creating a whale sanctuary in known foraging areas so the orcas
can hunt without vessel traffic, and breaching the Lower Snake River
Dams to boost fish returns for the whales. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle
Times) See also: And now, 6 tough questions about killer whale survival put to NOAA h Joshua McNichols writes. (KUOW)

Salmon runs return to Washington state river they’ve been denied access to for 92 years
Tacoma Power is now in the fish business. After a 92-year absence,
spring chinook salmon are once again moving up and down the North Fork
of the Skokomish River, thanks to a lot of human intervention and $62
million worth of state-of-the art facilities. Two new hatcheries,
collection facilities and extensive monitoring of fish habitat have been
put in place. In August, some of those first efforts returned to the
North Fork in the form of spawning spring chinook.... The reversal of
fortune for the fish came after years of negotiations with the Skokomish
Indian Tribe and decades of increasing alarm over declining salmon
populations. Craig Sailor reports. (News Tribune of Tacoma)

Biologists seek to prove that Rich Passage net pens have virus-infected fish
Alex Morton sits perched on the bow of the dinghy as it putters along,
eyes combing the water for the little organic chunks she’s after. A
stone’s throw away, Atlantic salmon bob and leap inside Cooke
Aquaculture’s floating net pens in Rich Passage. She telescopes out a
metal pole with a home aquarium net lashed to its end and begins dipping
it in the water, scooping up white, fatty tissue that dots the waters
outside the pens.... The pieces, believed to be chunks of the Atlantic
salmon, go into small vials headed to a lab for testing. Morton, an
independent biologist, is in Rich Passage looking for samples with
environmental groups Sea Shepherd and the Wild Fish Conservancy. They
suspect that the test results will show what previous testing by the
conservancy has found in fish recovered after Cooke's net pen facility
at Cypress Island collapsed last summer: piscine orthoreovirus (PRV). Nathan Pilling reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Deadly ghost net entangles, drowns Fraser River seals
The discovery of at least five seals that apparently died in a wayward
fishing net on B.C.'s Fraser River has alarmed Vancouver Aquarium's
chief veterinarian. The net and drowned seals were found by a CBC crew
on Thursday, Sept. 6, while they were producing an unrelated story on
the lower Fraser River near Steveston.... One conservation advocate
described the material as a "ghost net," a term for lost or discarded
fishing gear that harms wildlife. (Canadian Press)

Ferns are dying in Kitsap forests, and nobody knows why
The barren patch of ground stood out in the midst of the lush forest
understory. All around, sword ferns crowded between tree trunks forming
dense thickets of greenery, but in this spot, the ferns had been
decimated. Slender dead leaves littered the ground and only bare stubs
remained where clumps of healthy fronds recently flourished. "As far as I
can recall, this was our ground zero," Camp Indianola director Darin
Gemmer said, pausing on a hike along one of the camp's trails on
Thursday. The barren spot was one of many fern die-off sites Gemmer and
John O'Leary, a water resources program manager for the Suquamish Tribe,
stopped to point out along the path. Over the past year, Gemmer,
O'Leary and others have watched with alarm as large patches of sword
fern — a ubiquitous plant in the Northwest — disappeared in North Kitsap
forests. Tad Sooter reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Washington and 16 other states pledge to use $1.4B in VW settlement money to cut vehicle emissions
Washington and 16 other states intend to spend a total of $1.4 billion
from the Volkswagen diesel-vehicle settlement on boosting zero-emission
vehicles to fight climate change. The money is part of a pledge by the
17-state coalition known as the United States Climate Alliance to use
the money to reduce transportation emissions. The state Department of
Ecology previously declared that Washington’s approximately $113 million
share of settlement funds would be put toward zero-emissions vehicles,
vessels and infrastructure. Some of the money would go to electrifying
part of Washington’s ferry fleet. Joseph O'Sullivan reports. (Seattle
Times)

If Washington voters become the nation's first to OK a carbon-pollution fee, who will decide how to spend the money?
A carbon-pollution fee on fossil fuels — if approved by voters in
November — would finance a multibillion dollar spending surge intended
to cut Washington greenhouse-gas emissions. Initiative 1631 reflects the
proponents’ faith that an activist government can play a key role in
speeding up a transition to cleaner fuels and helping the state adjust
to a century of climate change. The spending — roughly $1 billion
annually by 2023 — would be funded by a carbon fee on fossil fuels that
would rise each year. The statewide ballot measure was developed by a
coalition of environmental, labor, tribal and social-justice groups. It
vests a 15-person board — a mix of state officials and public members
appointed by the governor — with the authority to develop an annual
investment plan. The options could range from helping people buy
electric cars to thinning fire-prone forests. Hal Bernton reports.
(Seattle Times)

Agencies release updated marbled murrelet plan
The state Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service have released a revised study for managing the state’s
coastal forests to protect a threatened bird species. The revised draft
environmental impact statement, or EIS, for marbled murrelet
conservation is open for public comment until 5 p.m. Nov. 6.... Over the
past several decades, the bird’s population has declined along the
Washington, Oregon and northern California coasts. The species is
recognized as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act and is
recognized as endangered by the state Department of Fish &
Wildlife. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald) Read the Revised DEIS and comment here.

Pender Harbour dock owners step up fight over Sechelt First Nation's restoration plan
Pender Harbour homeowners are ramping up their fight with the province
and the Sechelt (shíshálh) First Nation over a plan that would see at
least two dozen boat docks demolished and hundreds of others subject to
environmental and archeological studies. At least 16 locals have put up a
minimum of $500 each to pay for the services of former MP John Weston,
now a lawyer in private practice specializing in Aboriginal law. “The
plan leaves dock owners on the hook for studies we don’t see any need
for and expensive new building practices,” said Leonard Lee, president
of the Pender Harbour Chamber of Commerce, which is leading the fight.
“They have prohibited docks in some areas for no reason that we can
figure out.” ... The shíshálh deal could be a blueprint for other First
Nations that hope to assert control over their traditional territories
around the province, said Lee. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Getting a glimpse of Fidalgo Bay
Adults and children alike explored Fidalgo Bay’s marine life up close
Saturday during Fidalgo Bay Day. From petting sea cucumbers in a touch
tank to learning how orcas find their food, those who attended wound
their way through interactive displays of the bay’s components at
Fidalgo Bay Resort. Julia-Grace Sanders reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service
by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@)
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can unsubscribe at any time.

About Me

Salish Sea Communications provides communications and public relations services that raise visibility and engage audiences. Drawing on over 30 years experience in private, public and not-for-profit work, Mike Sato brings to you his skills and insights in developing and carrying out your print, electronic and social media projects and products. "I've been in the communications business since 1977 starting with community weekly newspapers then working for Seattle City Light, the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority, Hawaiian Electric Company and, for 20 years, People For Puget Sound." Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told. WA State UBI #601395482